This is the sixth post by FedUp Mom, the mother of a fifth grader. FedUp Mom’s daughter used to attend a public school in suburban Philadelphia, but this year FedUp Mom moved her to a private Quaker school, hoping for a more relaxed environment. You can read her other posts here, here, here, here and here.
I Hate Reading Logs
by FedUp Mom
Every time I think we’ve solved the school problem something comes along to bite me in the rear. This week it’s the dreaded reading log. We found out about it from a letter the teachers sent home:
“Your child will be expected to read every night. We ask that you sign the log each night … We will also check the log regularly, in order to ensure follow through on your child’s part… Please sign the form below and return it to school tomorrow with your child.”
And now, the fun part:
“Thank you for your partnership in your child’s education.” (!)
And how does following the teacher’s directions make me a partner exactly? I feel more like an unpaid employee. Wait a minute — we’re paying them!
There was a little form at the bottom of the letter that said:
“I have read the above letter and agree to help my child by signing his/her log each night.”
I crossed this out and wrote in:
“We trust our daughter to do her reading.”
Then we signed it.
Then we sent the following e-mail to the teacher:
Teacher X: we have chosen not to participate in the reading log. We’ve experienced reading logs before and have these objections:
1.) They turn reading into a chore.
2.) They send a message that we don’t trust (daughter) to do the reading without meddling and micromanaging.
(Daughter) will do the reading she needs to do, but she won’t be logging the pages. Thank you.
I’m hoping that will be the end of it. I’m really tired of conferences and I’m sure we all have better things to do with our time.
Stop Homework 
From further up in the comments:
***
The parents complaining here are the very parents teachers call “helicopter parents” – they hover and rescue.
***
more recently:
***
you all sound extremely lazy.
***
I propose that we put the commenters who think we’re overinvolved helicopter parents into a conference room with the commenters who think we’re underinvolved lazy parents. We can send in pizza every few hours, and they can let us know when they’ve reached a consensus.
Actually, I don’t care whether they reach a consensus or not. I’m really losing interest in teacher’s opinions of me as a parent.
LikeLike
Hi FedUpMom…I tried to post a comment yesterday but when I typed in my e-mail address (URL, right?) it said there were invalid characters in it….
I love your new blog BTW.
LikeLike
To the Anonymous private school teacher:
You are demonstrating the classic problem that I have with educators these days. Children are not small adults. Just because you would find reading logs a pain BUT they would get you reading, doesn’t mean that kids operate the same way. They don’t have the reasoning skills necessary to say “This sucks but it’s good for me to do anyway”. Kids stop at …”IT SUCKS”
Read to them! If you want to stimulate their imaginations…read to them. HELP them to love the books. You have to find a hook for each of the 8 kids…you’re lucky you’ve got only 8. But the issue is the same for each child. As far as I’m concerned, your primary job is to teach them to love books. Period. They can do the rest for the rest of their lives if you at least do that.
LikeLike
Aaah! Comment problems!
When it says “URL” it probably expects a web address ( you know, http://… whatever.)
Could you try again, and just use the “Anonymous” option?
I’m using a preformatted blog page, and I’m still finding my way around in it.
Thanks for your support!
LikeLike
To FedUpMom: I posted as Anonymous and it worked! How come the other commentor doesn’t show up as a comment on the initial post?
LikeLike
No worries… now both commentors are there…
LikeLike
Mercy sakes – it seems that there are people who spend way too much time complaining about reading logs – get over it. Go live your life away from this forum. Take the advice from Nike – “Just Do It” (decide to support the homework or to what degree you deem worthy and then get on with life). It seems that you enjoy discussing this topic via this blog to the point that it appears obsessive.
LikeLike
to psychmom
Read to them! If you want to stimulate their imaginations…read to them. HELP them to love the books. You have to find a hook for each of the 8 kids…you’re lucky you’ve got only 8. But the issue is the same for each child. As far as I’m concerned, your primary job is to teach them to love books. Period.
I do read to them every single day for at least 20. Then we spend time reading in groups. we only read books that the students select. they read with me, with partners, with a CD, and sometimes on their own. by the end of the year my students love reading. Reading on their own at home is just one more time during the day for them to read. it helps them transfer what we do at school to another setting. they read whatever they want, no restrictions. I have never had a parent or student complain about reading logs. ever. I have parents come to me at the end of the year thanking me for helping their child learn to love reading. not every kid or parent shares your point of view.
LikeLike
I don’t know who started this “personal connections” deal, but I think it’s crazy. People should be allowed to immerse themselves in reading and experience it naturally, without watching themselves do it and trying to force connections on it that might not even exist. A book is a different world; that’s why I like reading.
……………………………………….
There are different kinds of reading and different purposes. Yes, every reader enjoys immersing themselves in a good book, being transported to a different time and place. But in school ONE of our requirements in the teaching of reading is to teach the skills of reading. One of the goals of the reading assigned inside and outside of school is to get the students to stop and think about what they are reading (ask questions, make inferences, make connections, understand the author’s purpose and possible bias). As older readers, we do all of this naturally. Most younger readers have not made these skills automatic. They are just enjoying the story (there’s nothing wrong with that but sometimes the purpose of reading goes beyond that). There is often more to enjoy beyond what the author has put on the page.
LikeLike
Anonymous says:
***
I have never had a parent or student complain about reading logs. ever.
***
Most people don’t complain, because it’s a big hassle. From the parent’s point of view, you have to deal with the teacher’s defensiveness, and there’s always a chance the teacher will take out her frustrations on the child of the complaining parent.
So most parents take the easy way out and just fake the log. Between the parents faking and the kids faking, you’d be amazed at the small fraction of truthful reading logs.
LikeLike
Anonymous says:
***
One of the goals of the reading assigned inside and outside of school is to get the students to stop and think about what they are reading (ask questions, make inferences, make connections, understand the author’s purpose and possible bias).
***
The problem with making kids do this stuff is that they wind up hating reading. If your efforts to teach kids reading skills means that they never willingly pick up a book again, it just isn’t worth it. Let them enjoy reading and the skills will come naturally.
This has been posted before, but it’s relevant again:
http://thediamondinthewindow.typepad.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/2009/09/that-cursed-reading-log.html
***
It’s as if someone came up to you post-orgasm and said, “How was that? Would you give it a five? Or a four? Please, just write it down on this form each time.”
***
LikeLike
Certainly not everyone shares my view of reading logs or my dissapointment with the way reading is taught in many schools today. I don’t expect that. On this thread, (the most often responded to thread on this site), I only write in now when teachers write in to say that what I believe is wrong and that I’m doing a disservice to my child by not blindly doing whatever teachers tell me to do.
Children are not small adults. Echoing FedUpMom’s recent comment, if dissecting books turns young children away from reading, it’s not worth it. Sure, some children can handle the deeper meanings and nuances. Explore it with them. But when a 8 or 9 year old just loves to read, leave them alone to do it. The standards or criteria that many teachers say they “have” to follow should be subject to professional judgement. At the very least, the different rates of growth seen in young children should be respected.
I, to this day, cannot understand the purpose of reading logs. This summer, I’ve asked my daughter to keep track of how many books she reads. I want the number…I could care a less about the title, author, or what the book was about. The spark is gone…it flickers when I read to her..but it lasts only a day or two.
LikeLike
May I suggest the book, Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf. It is a story about how our brains develop into readers.
>>>>>>
“Let them enjoy reading and the skills will come naturally.”
I work with children who by no fault of their own, their parents or their teachers, struggle with reading. They come from very diverse backgrounds and they simply cannot enjoy reading until they have been given the tools & strategies in which to do so. WE use reading logs to track progress – to celebrate milestones and successes. It is all in the perspective of the beholder in how the reading logs are used.
Unfortunately for some children the skills don’t come naturally – no matter how much they read. But then again, our brains were not originally meant to read…how fortunate your children are if reading does appear to come naturally.
LikeLike
Anonymous says:
***
I work with children who by no fault of their own, their parents or their teachers, struggle with reading. … they simply cannot enjoy reading until they have been given the tools & strategies in which to do so.
***
You know what? I don’t believe you. I think a child who is able to read is also able to enjoy reading. I think the “tools & strategies” you give the kids are exactly what prevents them from enjoying reading.
The constant demands for “accountability” and “connections” are a lot of heavy lifting for a kid. You’ve taken something that should have been a pleasure and turned it into a chore.
I loved reading as a kid. I never had to make “text-to-self” connections or predict what would happen next or any of the currently fashionable literacy kudzu.
http://theconcordreview.blogspot.com/2010/05/will-this-is-brilliant.html#comment-form
LikeLike
You know what? I don’t believe you. I think a child who is able to read is also able to enjoy reading.
————————————–
Yes – when they finally get to the point that they can read, they do enjoy reading. Until then reading is not enjoyable.
Did you know that on average 20% of the children cannot read without getting additional ‘tools & strategies’ that allow their brains to grasp the skills needed to enjoy reading – these children may have dyslexia, dysphonia or another dysfunction of the processing systems within their brains that keep them from developing reading skills without intervention.
‘How the Brain Learns’ by David A. Sousa
‘Overcoming Dyslexia’ by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.
‘Brain Literacy for Educators and Psychologists’ by Virginia W. Berninger and Todd L. Richards
LikeLike
Anonymous, are you teaching kids how to read in the basic sense — that is, how to figure out what the word is on the page? That’s one set of issues.
Or, are you teaching reading in the “language arts” sense — that is, how to write responses to the books (text-to-self, etc.)? That’s a completely different set of issues.
LikeLike
A quote from Diane Ravitch’s new book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System”:
***
State standards for the English language arts are similarly vapid. Few states refer to a single significant work of literature that students are expected to read … Instead, they babble about how students “interact with text”, “apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to comprehend selections”, “relate reading to prior knowledge and experience and make connections to related information”, “make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections” …
***
Gives you an idea of how we got into our present mess …
LikeLike
Anonymous,
I’m not sure what “tools and strategies” you’re referring to, but the “language arts” strategies that FedUpMom mentions do not in my opinion teach reading, nor are they at all concerned with how fluently or well a child reads. I don’t even think they are concerned with “comprehension” in any normal sense of the word.
When my daughters were in 2nd grade, the would consistently be given rather average grades in reading, because the assessment was based solely on sessions with the teacher where she would ask things like: “what does the cover make you think the book is going to be about,” or what does the story remind you of in your life.” My kids would often answer “I don’t know,” or “nothing” to such questions because they found the book boring, or they were shy that day, or the book didn’t relate to anything in their lives (this happened a lot). Once one of my daughters told me she answered “I don’t know” to a question about what the cover might tell her about the book because, as she said, “mommy you told me not to judge a book by the cover.” (I kid you not!)
Yet these were kids who were reading chapter books well above grade-level (books like Little Women), voluntarily and independently in their spare time. If the teacher had even just asked open-ended questions such as “did you like the book,” or “what was the book about,” my daughters would have been able to answer, and the teacher would have learned something about their comprehension. (This teacher also rarely actually asked them to read to her. When I asked her why not, she said, “Fluency is not the issue; we’re not concerned with that.) As soon as this type of assessment was dropped (the next year), my daughters grades in reading went way up and stayed there. So I’m very wary of these “strategies”; they seem like a kind of game, one that my children didn’t know how to play very well, despite being competent, voracious readers.
LikeLike
***
Once one of my daughters told me she answered “I don’t know” to a question about what the cover might tell her about the book because, as she said, “mommy you told me not to judge a book by the cover.”
***
I love this kid!
***
So I’m very wary of these “strategies”; they seem like a kind of game, one that my children didn’t know how to play very well,
***
Absolutely right. That describes so much of school. You’ve given me the theme of a blog post …
LikeLike
Oops, in the last paragraph of my comment, I meant to write “my daughters’ grades” (with apostrophe!).
FedUpMom: I’ll look forward to the blog post.
LikeLike
it would be great if we could individualize homework based on student need and the amount of parent support/invovlement the child gets but in a class of 25 or more it is almost impossible. to take homework away from every student would be a disservice to some just as giving homework is a disservice to your child. it is a tricky situtation, not one that can be fixed just by eliminating homework/logs. it would be more productive to share points of view and brainstorm a solution that would meet the needs of many groups of students, not just the ones who come from homes w/ rich learning environments.
the general vibe of this thread is quite hostile. it would be so much better if people who post and have strong feelings about these issues worked together to come up w/ workable solutions. complaining and spouting philosophy isn’t very productive. (In my head, I’m not saying this w/ any type of disrespect or hostility. I hope it comes across that way).
LikeLike
Anonymous says:
***
it would be great if we could individualize homework based on student need and the amount of parent support/invovlement the child gets but in a class of 25 or more it is almost impossible.
***
OK, maybe it’s hard to devise homework that’s actually useful for every student, but as a parent, that’s not my job. It’s the teacher’s job, and in my district she’s paid quite well for it.
If the teacher assigns homework that doesn’t help my child learn, then let me opt out. I will write a note saying “we’ve decided my child won’t be doing this homework”, and the teacher’s job is to accept it. No nagging, scolding, humiliating the child in class, taking her out of recess, or other consequences. Just trust the parents to make the right decision for their child and let it go.
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
Anonymous says:
***
I work with children who by no fault of their own, their parents or their teachers, struggle with reading. … they simply cannot enjoy reading until they have been given the tools & strategies in which to do so.
***
You know what? I don’t believe you. I think a child who is able to read is also able to enjoy reading. I think the “tools & strategies” you give the kids are exactly what prevents them from enjoying reading.
***************
Then you would be wrong. You should probably educate yourself on this topic unless you want to continue to look like a fool. sigh.
LikeLike
DumbfoundedEducator, people have enjoyed reading for many centuries without teachers insisting on text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections, without reading logs, and without reading journals. They just read books they cared about.
We are raising a generation of kids who hate reading. I know you educators want to blame TV, the internet, and us parents, but you need to take a good hard look at what happens in the schools. I am not the only parent to notice that my kid becomes less interested in reading the more she is pressed to account for it.
Suppose you were watching a favorite movie, and then your boss showed up and insisted that you stop the show every 5 minutes and answer questions about what you thought the characters would do next, what the screenwriter wanted to communicate, and how it relates to your personal experience. Would you still want to watch the movie?
LikeLike
I am a first grade teacher of 16 years. And while many of you have valid comments regarding homework and logs there are 2 things you are not aware of or addressing…1. many districts have homework policies and teachers do not have a choice about sending something home for homework. and 2. if all parents did their jobs as parents instead of expecting the teachers to do all the work for them, then we wouldnt have to send homework home! It insures parents are doing their part and teaches responsibility! I am so tired of parents who expect us to be the teacher, the mom, the counselor, etc….. You had them so take some responsibility! And for the intelligent comment abouve about we get paid to do the job…you must not be aware of how little we get paid!
LikeLike
Anonymous, in my district a teacher makes 48K in their first year, and the salaries go up from there.
***
if all parents did their jobs as parents instead of expecting the teachers to do all the work for them, then we wouldnt have to send homework home! It insures parents are doing their part and teaches responsibility!
***
Nope, you lost me there. It’s not your job to “ensure parents are doing their part”. It’s really none of your business how I choose to raise my kids.
It’s hard enough trying to keep a classroom of kids under control all day. I can’t imagine why you make your job harder by trying to control what their parents do with the kids after the school day is over.
And how exactly am I asking you to do my job? I’m asking you to do your job, namely teaching. Teach the kids during the school day, and I’ll decide how we spend our time at home.
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
DumbfoundedEducator, people have enjoyed reading for many centuries without teachers insisting on text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections, without reading logs, and without reading journals. They just read books they cared about.
We are raising a generation of kids who hate reading. I know you educators want to blame TV, the internet, and us parents, but you need to take a good hard look at what happens in the schools. I am not the only parent to notice that my kid becomes less interested in reading the more she is pressed to account for it.
Suppose you were watching a favorite movie, and then your boss showed up and insisted that you stop the show every 5 minutes and answer questions about what you thought the characters would do next, what the screenwriter wanted to communicate, and how it relates to your personal experience. Would you still want to watch the movie?
************************************************
1) I love reading your posts because you have no idea what you are talking bout. Like I said before…You should probably educate yourself on this topic unless you want to continue to look like a fool.
2) you are so narrow minded…
….my little kid does this and my family does that …therefore the education system has to work this way…
If you don’t like how things are done then a) speak out at your local school board meetings or
b) home school your kid(s)
LikeLike
DumbfoundedEducator, do you have anything useful to add to this discussion, or do you just like to insult people?
There’s another option besides a.) and b.).
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
DumbfoundedEducator, do you have anything useful to add to this discussion, or do you just like to insult people?
There’s another option besides a.) and b.).
****************************************8
sure, there are many other … complaining about it in the comments section on someones blog isn’t one of them.
LikeLike
DumbEducator, I don’t just comment on the blog, I wrote the original post, which has gone viral and has now been read by hundreds (thousands?) of people. If you think that’s a waste of time, that’s your problem.
And if my efforts are a waste of time, how about yours? I may spend time complaining, but you’re spending time complaining about the complaints.
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
DumbEducator, I don’t just comment on the blog, I wrote the original post, which has gone viral and has now been read by hundreds (thousands?) of people. If you think that’s a waste of time, that’s your problem.
And if my efforts are a waste of time, how about yours? I may spend time complaining, but you’re spending time complaining about the complaints.
************************
And how many people have read this that are in your school district that have the opposite opinion as you. If you want any change to happen in your area those are the people you need to reach (then you have to convince them that what you say has any validity…which it doesn’t). I’m betting that number is near zero.
Post away … WH is an important tool in education … you are not going to change that.
LikeLike
***
WH is an important tool in education
***
What the heck is “WH”?
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
***
WH is an important tool in education
***
What the heck is “WH”?
********************
sigh…
Homework
LikeLike
Don’t sigh at me, you’re the one who reversed the letters. I’m not psychic, you know.
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
…I’m not psychic, you know.
*******************
Good to know….My apologies.
LikeLike
Here’s a terrific post, “Reading logs killed the bibliophile”.
http://wouldashoulda.com/2010/03/24/reading-logs-killed-the-bibliophile/
LikeLike
I would like to see homework actually graded for correctness rather than completion. Not only does this show the child the work they are doing has a real value but also lets the teacher, parent and student know exactly what the child is learning.
I am told homwork is “practice” and “children should not be punished by a grade if they do badly”.They are working and as such should be given a grade just as that teacher “earns” her pay.
This also allows better all over grades for those students who test poorly, for what ever reason. It balances out the grades that seem to only count, those for test taking. Perhaps parents should be able to grade teachers for what our children learn and teachers earn rather than some benign statement as to a highly effective teacher. PLEASE !!!
I hate the summer reading and math programs! First of all a child needs to be taught by a credited teacher not a mom or dad that never took geometry, calculus or literature classes. If a school is going to require summer at home programs then
1. supply the book
2. also supplies for these stupid scrapbook, building, cooking etc projects
3. They cannot count as a grade if a teacher is not present to teach ( ours count as the students first 9 weeks grade ) look for ruling by the New York Board of Regents (1998 ?) on exactly this subject.
4.Ensure that the students that are in remedial classes must do the work as well instead of being told they do not have to do it because they need a teacher to show them how to actually do the work. Most students in our middle and high school with IEP’s are not assigned any summer assignments but are not put in summer school classes either. Yet they can be up to 3 or 4 grade levels behind in reading. Go figure.
I read voraciously every single day as can my sons but they hate being forced to read something they have no interest in. We spend a fortune at bookstores and come home from the library with arm loads of books that they all READ and not only comprehend but we have spirited debates over what they have read. I love it when my sons say” Mom, you have to read this-it is great or what a waste of time”. By giving them choice they have expanded their reading horizons on their own.
Give them choice, have reading dicussion groups daily in class instead of numerous question sheets, crossword puzzles and book reports. By letting them discuss freely and by using their wonderful minds you will find they test better. They are drawn into the discussions and can even tell you who liked the book, who hated it and all about the characters and plot. And I know that as a teacher you can tell exactly where your students stand by this form of evaluation
Why do you think there are so many reading groups out there for adults. Oprah sure started something…
Even in our little rural community there are reading discussion groups.
Reading logs are a total waste of time for all. More paperwork and less brain work. Annonymous really needs to be removed from the classroom. I do not want them teaching any of my kids.
Forget the paperwork if it means nothing.
LikeLike
I stumbled on this blog when I googled “reading logs” in an attempt as a teacher to do some research on creating a more meaningful way to support at-home reading.
My passion for teaching is probably the same passion that many of you have for motherhood. It is clear that this blog is filled with people’s passionate comments. One thing that should not be happening is parents telling teachers how to teach, and teachers telling parents how to parent. Now, unfortunately, due to the way our school systems work, there is a need for accountability. Accountabilty from all aspects: children, parents, and teachers. Just as a dentist is accountable for your child’s tooth that he/she pulled, a teacher is accountable for the work he/she does. Sadly, due to how teachers’ salaries are paid, some parents feel that, in turn, they are able to control their children’s teachers. What seems to be forgotten is that teachers are professionals; they each have a degree that allows them to qualify for the position. As your dentist is a professional, your child’s teacher is too. A good start to this problem is communication, filled with respect that teachers are the experts at teaching and parents are the experts at parenting.
LikeLike
@Lifelong Reader- I appreciate your reasoned tone, but I disagree with you on some points.
Just having a degree does not necessarily make one a professional. Unfortunately, what I see is a pretty large percentage of teachers (not all) that are not “professionals” in the sense that I think of. I expect a professional in any field to approach his or her work with something like the scientific process: continually learning about the field, seeking feedback, experimenting to see what works best. Specifically with teaching children, teachers need to have a deep understanding of developmental psychology, but what I see often is that teachers’ teaching methods actively turn off children.
As for why parents like me feel that I should be able to “control” teachers it is quite simple:
1. I pay their salary through my taxes
2. I have no choice in where I send my child to school (without forfeiting all that tax money)
Believe me, I don’t want to be complaining as much as I do…I would like the interaction between parents and teachers (and between teachers and students) to be much more collegial. But when on the very first day of school the teachers (almost all of them) send home a contract for the student with lists of “you WILL do this” and “you WILL NOT do that” you’ve lost me (and my child) before I ever got a chance to be friendly.
Finally, teachers cannot be compared to dentists. If I don’t like a dentist I leave and I don’t come back. I can’t do that with the public school.
LikeLike
I think in many ways we are all fighting over the same thing, teachers and parents alike. It all comes down to funding and the curriculum.
We need to look at what is required to be taught by the states and how the money is spent to fund it.
In my son’s AP history class he is required to read and finish report sheets during the summer before school begins. Instead of sending home the book (the kids might lose it) they xeroxed the 3 chapters and questions. Either the state requires too much in curriculum or the teacher cannot teach what is required during the year. The cost for over 60 students (small school) is what?
In the elementary school children bring home a sheet every night copied out of their spelling and math workbooks, again not to be brought home becuase they might forget the book the next day. Cost again?
In the middle school a teacher copied every page of the geography workbook rather than send it home nightly.
Cost again?
Do we need so many workbooks? Middle school math books have enough questions for homework to last the full year. So why are we copying worksheets and buying workbooks. The contracts are required to get the kids to be responsible and do the work, how about being responsible for bringing their books and homework back in each day and save us a fortune in workbooks and copying costs.
I have no problem with reports for language arts, science, history etc. but expect more classroom work than they are doing. I expect my children to have to work and to succeed but am told I am either being too hard or that I enabling my children by expecting the computerized progress book program (that we are paying for) to be filled out with homework and grades at least every other day so that my child with an IEP ( short term memory ADHD etc) so we have a resource to make sure he is completing all assigned work. He is smart enough to know that the teachers will grade him on work completed rather than work assigned even though we insist that he be graded on assignments. But big deal 3 points for compeletion rather than actually being able to perform the work correctly and graded properly for it.
I found recently that parents can be part of a program at the state board of education level that allows them to be part of determining curriculum as well as their point of view with the schools and they then go back and report these findings to schools in their districts and parents.
Now how many parents can afford to take more time off of work to attend these meetings. It is hard enough to get parents to attend conferences because of their work schedules ( many 2nd shift) to having other children at home that must be taken care of. Why not use title 1 monies to have child care offered during the conferneces oops I forgot- title 1 monies can only be used for title 1 money can be used for title 1 families.Or can it?
How many teachers ask the parents what their backgrounds are in their career fields? Many are teachers or stay at home parents now that previously taught for many years. Teachers take umbrage at our questioning them yet as parents we are denigrated by terms such as helicpopter parents etc. by these same teachers. Do you really want us to be involved or not?
Now that being said I have found that the majoity of teachers in our schools are excellent but lacking the support of funding and parents.
We had a middle school math teacher tediously explaining algerbra to a parent that is a mechanical engineer ( with many patents) that has a higher math degree than a high school math teacher. He (the parent) quickly explained that if a teacher felt he was to stupid to understand the math perhaps the teacher was to stupid to teach the class. He then explained his credentials in the field of mathematics and left the conference disgusted with the teacher and school in general.
Before staying home with my children I ran a business that grossed over 28 million a year but becuase it was a small business the teachers and superintendent act as if I couldn’t possibly understand how to run the school.It is still a business or perhaps it should be run as one.
Instead of sniping at each other about the curriculum we all get together in our prospective schools and work on a plan that could be used at the state or federal level that would improve our schools. In Ohio a new bill was passed for the “Family Civic Engagement Plan” yet I can guarantee you that the school will only use the select few parents that they use on every committee and not make it common knowledge to the rest of the parents. I have already asked and was not responded to in any manner. The Principal even said she had never heard of it but they passed it at a school board meeting that night.
We have to work together or we might as all homeschool our children at this point. Children that need the help are not getting it and children that can easily do the work are forced to do more because of state testing results on the whole.
Let us put our heads together on this board and think of ways to make things work for our children, parents and teachers alike.
LikeLike
Think how much time and money could be saved if we just abolished homework until high school.
LikeLike
Matthew says:
As for why parents like me feel that I should be able to “control” teachers it is quite simple:
1. I pay their salary through my taxes
**********************************************
Make sure you tell that to the police officer that pulls you over
..I pay your salary through my taxes so you can’t give me a ticket.
LikeLike
@DumbfoundedEducator: if the cop abuses his position as I feel some teachers do, you can bet I’m going to complain.
I would also note that the police generally pay a lot of attention to public relations and modify their methods sometimes based on public opinion. I don’t see that in the public teaching field.
The public schools (and I think the administrators are worse in this regard than the teachers) seem to have forgotten who they work for (the taxpayers). The point I was trying to make was not that I would actually say to a teacher “I pay your salary, you need to do what I say” but that I do expect responsiveness to parents, politeness, and a feedback loop that actually does change things over time.
LikeLike
***
Make sure you tell that to the police officer that pulls you over
***
I can’t tell you how sick and tired I am of hearing about the police on a blog about schools. Teachers aren’t supposed to be cops, and they’re not supposed to be bosses. They’re supposed to be “in loco parentis” — surrogate parents.
LikeLike
FedUpMom says:
***
Make sure you tell that to the police officer that pulls you over
***
I can’t tell you how sick and tired I am of hearing about the police on a blog about schools. Teachers aren’t supposed to be cops, and they’re not supposed to be bosses. They’re supposed to be “in loco parentis” — surrogate parents.
*************************************
The police was just one example. There are many professions out there where the person is being compensated through taxes. The vast majority of these jobs you personally have no control over even though you ‘pay’ for their wages.
surrogate parents: Well I hope that isn’t the case. My wife teaches elementary school and she definitely wouldn’t consider that part of her job description. She definitely doesn’t advise students on their religious preferences, or many other issues, as a parent would. (I’m a college professor so all my students are ‘adults’)
LikeLike
Yes that is my post above….forgot to put DumbfoundedEducator in the Name section.
LikeLike
Matthew says:
@DumbfoundedEducator: if the cop abuses his position as I feel some teachers do, you can bet I’m going to complain.
I would also note that the police generally pay a lot of attention to public relations and modify their methods sometimes based on public opinion. I don’t see that in the public teaching field.
***************************************************
Do you live in the USA…because this really doesn’t happen. The only time they seem to change, and this is only some of the time, is if one of their own gets caught on video doing something wrong.
LikeLike
Matthew says:
The public schools (and I think the administrators are worse in this regard than the teachers) seem to have forgotten who they work for (the taxpayers). The point I was trying to make was not that I would actually say to a teacher “I pay your salary, you need to do what I say” but that I do expect responsiveness to parents, politeness, and a feedback loop that actually does change things over time.
*****************************************
If you don’t like how the schools is your district are being run then you should work to elect a new school board. This is where your voice can be heard. A Teacher could have 30 parents all trying to get changes to the classroom that are all different and most likely incompatible with each other. On the other hand, maybe all the ideas are great and if that teacher implements all of them he/she will only have to work 20-40 more hours in the week.
LikeLike
***
If you don’t like how the schools is your district are being run then you should work to elect a new school board.
***
By the time a new school board is elected and any change has been made, my child will have graduated.
I like this option: take your kid out of the public school.
***
A Teacher could have 30 parents all trying to get changes to the classroom that are all different and most likely incompatible with each other.
***
You’re saying that parents want different things, so the teacher is justified in ignoring them. Thanks a lot for the partnership.
***
On the other hand, maybe all the ideas are great and if that teacher implements all of them he/she will only have to work 20-40 more hours in the week.
***
If we ditched homework in elementary school, teachers would save time and energy. We’re not advocating more work for teachers at all.
LikeLike
Hey, this is the 500th comment! Woohoo!
***
A Teacher could have 30 parents all trying to get changes to the classroom
***
In my experience, the number of parents who take the trouble to try to get changes is extremely small. In a class of 30, I’d be surprised if you get 5 or 6 parents with persistent complaints.
The fact that teachers freak out and feel like “the parents are always making my job harder!” shows a fundamental problem. Teachers really don’t believe parents have any right to complain about what’s going on. That’s why a few complaining parents gets blown out of proportion.
A second point, which I apparently can’t stress enough, is that when I refused to do a reading log, I wasn’t trying to get a change in the classroom. I was trying to control what I did with my own child in my own home. That’s my right as a parent.
LikeLike